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Jews, (Acts 2:14) and afterwards, in the house of Cornelius, to the Gentiles. (Acts 10:34). Afterwards the power to bind and loose was conferred upon every disciple (Matt. 18:18). x (4) The Faithful Rebuke, vs. 21-23. Our Lord now begins to tell of His coming sacrifice. Peter again comes to the front, but this time to his own con fusion. Pride over the: Lord’s com mendation of his confession of Him, has spoiled him, as if has Inany a man. “ Pity yourself, Lord,” he said. The flavor of the Father is not there now, but'the smell of Satan. It was the old temptation—a crown without a cross. Jesus would have none of it. This un masking of the heart of Peter should teach us all the lesson that the heart is deceitful above all things and des perately wicked. Fight every tendency Which would divert you from the path to the cross. The way is now open for the Lord to emphasize the foundation truth of disci- pleship, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” There are no crosses spoken of in the Bible; it is one cross, and that means death to self. If you are thinking of little self- denials as crosses, forget it, or you can never know the life of joy. ‘^Christ, for the joy that was set before Him, en dured the cross.” “He pleased not Him self”—had no will of His own. Following Him involves—faith in Him; likeness to Him; obedience to His will; surrender of self. The world is looking to the followers of Christ to see what it means to be a Christian. You can show them, if you will. (4) The Follower’s Renunciation, vs. 24.25.
(5) The Follower’s Reward, vs. 25, 26. The Lord never makes a request with out giving a promise of reward for compliance with it. Salvation is a gift, but for service there is reward. For a true follower there is a life of joy and peace here, and a real reward here after. As no man can have salvation without the yielding of his will and the confession of Christ as Saviour and) Lord, neither can he have eternal satis faction without paying the price of death to self. The problem is simple: If self is the center, you lose; if Christ is the center, you gain. Which will it be, oh soul of man? PRACTICAL POINTS. (1) Many men make mistakes with reference to who the Son of Man is. (2) “Son of Man! What a name, for the Son of God who came, ruined sinners to reclaim.” • (3) He must take the title “Son of Man.” The Christ, the Son of the living God, definitely distinguishes Him from every other man that ever lived. (4) What flesh and blood cannot re veal, the Heavenly Father will make manifest. (5) The Church is established upon the Rock foundation. (6) The character of the Church is fixed by the character of its foun dation. (7) The powers of hell cannot prevail against the promise of this Man from Heaven.
Confession of Christ Lifts. An old Welch preacher pictured a conversation between the widow of Nain and her son, in their humble home, that wonderful night. .“How did it all hap-
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